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“Heroes and Monsters (An Open Letter from the Virtuous Man to his Noble Woman)”

You, with your heroes and monsters;
I sometimes wonder which shelf you think I belong,
as you surround yourself in a perfect conveyor belt
of ivory chess pieces;
Crucified castles and galloping virgins.
You, with your heroes and monsters;
Sitting atop a pile of National Geographics,
spilling Chinese tea,
tinting brown the yellow sleeves.
You, with your heroes and monsters;
I would give anything to be the thump beneath your bed,
or the shadow spreading wildly—
where north and east meet ceiling.
You, with your grade school ribbons and gold star medallions,
dangling from the hooks your father fashioned
from used fishing lures.
I hope you sleep very well tonight,
with the knowledge I have imagined our sex.
It was high-quality, first-rate—
moral but with a compass pointing towards the obscene.
You must try it sometime;
Really.
You, with your heroes and monsters.